The present invention relates to melt processable copolyetheramide elastomers, and more specifically copolyetheramide elastomers that may be prepared in a continuous manner, including elastomers that may be prepared in a reactive extruder and/or similar equipment.
Thermoplastic polyamide elastomers, often referred to as PEBA, are high-performance and high-cost materials. PEBA materials have excellent resiliency and rebound properties as well as good hysteresis and chemical resistance. PEBA materials also have good low temperature impact properties. However, PEBA materials are also high cost materials due to the high cost of the raw materials used to prepare PEBA and the batch and semi-continuous methods of manufacturing PEBA. The high residence and/or reaction times needed to produce conventional PEBA materials have, to date, made continuous PEBA processing impractical.
There is a need for a PEBA material, or a PEBA-like material, that provides comparable and/or improved properties and characteristics but at lower overall cost. PEBA materials that can be produced continuously and/or in an internal mixing device, for example via reactive extrusion, would have significantly reduced production costs compared to conventional PEBA made via batch and semi-continuous methods. There is a need for a PEBA material, or a PEBA-like material, that may be processed continuously as well as the continuous process thereof.